Reduce mistakes to mere particles

Fort Collins Now

Regrets are tricky. Most of the time, little can be done to alter life decisions, and before you know it, there you are well after retirement age, sighing wistfully in a rocking chair, mulling the way things might have been if you hadn't decided to tattoo the Grateful Dead's dancing bears across your forehead when you were 19. You might have been a lawyer rather than the night janitor at the bus depot.

That was then; these days, certain regrets can be zapped into small particles with a laser and banished forever.

Reflections Medspa in Fort Collins has enlisted a new tool to turn those previously lifelong decisions into second chances: a tattoo-removing laser capable of wiping out body ink to a degree never before possible.

No erasies: Tales from Toronto Ink

The small second-floor studio betrays the fact that an artist works here: a rainbow's worth of ink bottles, drawings taped up around the room and a messy desk where Pauline Zahalan sits mulling over her latest creation. A dragon, it twists and turns on the page. Piles of yellow tracing paper that bury her desk chart the creature's evolution from original design to present state. She needs to work on the scales next. The piece has taken longer than she expected.
" Dragons I find really challenging," she says. The present incarnation is at least her 10th draft.
Hanging from the wall above the gurgling aquarium is one of her paintings: a male torso, with hands clasping a belt buckle. Her signature graces the bottom right corner next to the date: 1993. Taped to the opposite wall is a portrait of the Norse god Odin. There are two wolves at his feet, hawks perched
on his shoulders and he's holding a spear. She drew that one for her boyfriend. They met, in fact, when she tattooed it on him.
Just north of Wellesley is where you'll find this studio, part of Yonge Street Tattoos. It's a place where flesh and art intersect, where the human body becomes a canvas.
" I've always been an artist," says Zahalan, 52. Her shoulder-length hair is a mesh of purple and grey. She's wearing jeans and a black top; a heart-shaped locket hangs around her neck. In the corner next to the aquarium sits a photo of actor Michael Madsen, whom she has tattooed several times. Taped to her desk is a photo of Donny O'Neil, the late brother of former Maple Leaf Jeff O'Neil, for another tattoo she's working on. It's just before noon on a Thursday morning, and she sets aside the dragon, which will grace a woman's back, in order to prepare for her one o'clock appointment.
Zahalan started tattooing about 13 years ago, admittedly a late start. Tired of doing portraits and other odd jobs to make ends meet, she went back to university. She thought she might become a teacher. But it was while she was working on a school project about people with tattoos that she discovered her calling.
" I was just so drawn to these people with artwork on their bodies," she explains. She got the owner of a Queen Street shop to take her on as an apprentice, and after she finished at University of Toronto, he gave her a full-time gig.
" At the time I was the only female artist in the city," she says. " There'd been one before me, but she died of a heroin overdose."
Zahalan hasn't looked back. She's owned the store since 1997, which she proudly points out is the only female-owned tattoo shop in the city. With 16 employees -- including
Zahalan's hourly rate is $ 150.
You can still come in off the street and get a flash tattoo, but that's happening less these days. For starters, the trend is leaning increasingly toward custom tattoos. Second, tattoo artists just don't have the time to fulfill such requests. In fact, she's considering hiring someone to handle just walk-in customers. Zahalan shows off two thick file folders. One is full of completed designs ready to be tattooed, and the other is of designs she still has to finish. Every employee is backlogged.
There was a slump a few years back, " but ever since the shows on
TV -- Miami Ink, L. A. Ink, Inked --
it's like another boom," she explains.
" And it's encouraged people who had no idea what to expect to get the courage to come in."
Zahalan, meanwhile, is getting ready for her first tattoo of the day. Connie, a petite 24-year-old Toronto accountant, is the one getting Just don't on her foot. But why?
" It's kind of stupid," she says, sheepishly. She's had several relationships where a boyfriend left her without giving a reason. Last year, when she asked the guy who was dumping her why he didn't like her, she got her answer: " I just don't."
" That's when I started to plan this tattoo," she says.
Zahalan has her share of stories, too. She remembers the time a man came in with a gorgeous naked woman on his shoulder. He wanted the eyes redone, but curiously, he also wanted her clothed. While tattooing him Zahalan asked about its significance. It was the man's late wife. She had died in his arms. He wanted to cover her up because he had a daughter now and didn't think it was appropriate.
" That almost made me cry," she says.
Connie ( who declined to give her last name) lies on the fold-up table in the middle of the room, which Zahalan shares with fellow artist Thor, who looks just like his name would suggest. Zahalan tapes dental bibs around her forearms and cleans Connie's foot with alcohol.
" It might takes us a couple of tries to get this the way you want it," she says as she applies the stencil to Connie's foot. Zahalan's right: It takes a few tries -- and a consultation with her friend waiting downstairs -- before Connie is ready to proceed.
" The most important thing is not to wiggle around," explains Zahalan. The accountant bites her thumb in apprehension, but Zahalan is motherly: " You're doing great honey. You're awesome."
Connie doesn't say much, only squeezing her eyes shut when the needle hits a particularly sensitive spot. Her foot grows black with ink as the tattoo progresses. Zahalan regularly cleans the foot with a paper towel sprayed with water and soap. After about 30 minutes, the tattoo is done. Zahalan applies the bandage, warns against swimming or soaking in a whirlpool for a couple of weeks and reminds her to apply sunscreen ( the sun fades tattoos).
It's just past 5 p.m. as Zahalan sits back down in her studio. Her shift is almost over. Although neither of the two tattoos she did today were complex, for Zahalan each tattoo is equally important.
"There's something of me in everybody that I tattoo. Sometimes I think about it: There's people all around the world that have -- it's probably not even logical or scientific-- but they have my molecules."
There's pressure knowing that what she and her staff create will endure, laser removal surgery aside. She recalls a man who came to see her specifically after seeing one of her tattoos on someone in Thailand. It's that kind of impact that drives her whenever she dips the needle into the pigment and begins to work.
"You can't do anything half-assed," she says. "What I put on people has to be a masterpiece."

Tattoo tips ...

IF you are thinking about getting a tattoo here are some pointers to follow:
Find a design or an idea that you like first. Don’t just go in pick one off the wall; you’ll only regret it later.
Find a tattoo shop you can trust. Ask your friends and colleagues about their experiences.
Find a good and suitable artist. Most tattooists have their ‘greatest hits’ books with them in stores. Go in and ask to see their best designs. All have their own favoured style.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you know nothing about getting a tattoo, then make sure you get all the information you feel you need. People in tattoo shops may look threatening but most of them are gentle souls and very knowledgeable.
Be adventurous. Tattooists are very creative and love to be inspired. Challenge them and you'll get the best results.
Don't be afraid if you are asked to leave a small cash deposit when you go in with your idea. Every tattooist has been burnt by customers asking for designs but never returning.
It's your tattoo. If you don't like the first design then ask for changes.
Price. Think of your tattoo like parking in an NCP – it’s charged by the hour. Plan for anything between £50 and £100 per hour depending on the difficulty of your design and quality of your tattooist.

Adams: iPhones are for sissies, I want this!

Digital Tattoo Interface! At this year's Greener Gadgets Design Competition, Jim Mielke demonstrated a Bluetooth cell phone, complete with video display, that's powered by the body's own blood supply. The device is embedded between the skin and muscle and connected to an artery and a vein. Glucose and oxygen in the blood power the device, just as they power the organic parts of the body.

The device is unobtrusive until activated. Then the light sensitive material that makes up the tattoo changes from clear to black and the display appears. When you're done using it, turn it off and it disappears again. It seems like you could download the design for any tattoo of that size you'd like and change it at a whim or have nothing at all show up (handy for job interviews!). Throw some internet access and maybe a couple of games on that sucker and you can sign me up right now.

Tattoo Artists Flock To Little Rock

If you see a lot more people walking around Little Rock with tattoos, that's because thousands of people, and tattoo artists from around the world are in Little Rock for Inksplosion, the second annual tattoo convention in Arkansas. Friday through Sunday, the Statehouse Convention Center will be full of people getting tattoos, entertainment, seminars, and competition.

They say it's an addiction, after you get your first tattoo, you keep going back for more.

And right now, there are thousands in Little Rock, adding even more tattoos than they already have.

For some, tattoos are symbolic, others, have them for fun. But the process can cost thousands of dollars, and it's not easy or quick. For many, the price and the pain is well worth it.

Britney Spears has Kabbalah tattoo removed

Britney Spears has had her Kabbalah tattoo removed. Spears had a Hebrew tattoo on the back of her neck bearing one of the 72 words for 'God' found in the texts of Kabbalah, a mystical branch of Judaism. However, when the 26-year-old singer was spotted out shopping in Los Angeles earlier this week, it was clear she has had the tattoo removed. .

TV Producer Hopes Tampa Ink Makes Its Mark

TAMPA - At the tender age of 49, Mike Cooper got his first tattoo this week. He sat quietly in the red dentist-type chair at Addicted 2 Tattoos while shop owner Lenny Welch applied the buzzing needle. He swore he felt nothing.

Within an hour, the image of a snaggletooth skull tearing through the ripped-open flesh on his left shoulder emerged. It was just the beginning.

Cooper will have to return for the rest of the ink, a sprawling scene on his back of a seascape with his own charter boat as the centerpiece. There will be birds and fish, sky and sea.

The Tampa charter boat captain is also getting into the tattoo business, or rather, the business of showing the business. He doubles as a television producer and has made several local fishing shows.

A new world opens to Derung tribes

BEIJING, Jan. 10 -- In the mountains of Southwest China's Yunnan Province lives one of China's least known and smallest ethnic groups, the Derung people. They have a population of around 5,000 and are named after the fast-moving river called Derung which gushes from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau into the valley where they live.

Enclosed by several mountains, the Derung villages are inaccessible for more than half a year due to heavy snow.

The Derung have their own traditions passed on orally and through practice, as they don't have a written language. But the most distinct feature of the people is quickly fading -- girls don't tattoo their faces any more.

The custom was practised when a girl turned 12- or 13-years-old.

Making money from tattoos

Speaking of shopping, if you could use a little extra cash, you don't have to brave a retail job , you just have to show some skin. The Web site www.leaseyourbody.com connects companies with people willing to be paid to wear the advertisers' temporary tattoos.

Participants can also opt to get a permanent tattoo, which, the site says, "will fetch significantly more money" , as well as a lot of difficult questions from your future grandchildren.

Dunlop Tire Brand Out to Get More Ink in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Dunlop's in-your-face guerilla marketing is getting some ink at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show this week.

Make that stylized Dunlop tattoos that enthusiasts can wear home this year. In fact, 24-year-old Fernando Diaz, an automotive enthusiast from Houston, received his second Dunlop inking; he got his first last year, along with a set of tires.

"I needed another set," Diaz said, as a Las Vegas artist fashioned a smoking tire with Dunlop's "Flying D" logo. Not to be outdone, Denny Jusczak, of Forest Lake, Minn., said this was his third.

Two Las Vegas artists are helping the tire brand to spread its message among the 100,000 strong who attend this aftermarket automotive convention. Appropriately, the theme of the tire brand's booth in the convention center's South Hall is the "Art of Performance."

"Dunlop has many brand devotees who are truly connected to the driving experience.

Glass acts: Sailor Jerry rum

Named after legendary tattoo artist Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, the Sailor Jerry rum is a 92-proof dark rum that, although hard to find, is gaining in popularity.

Modern Drunkard magazine claims this drink is "one of the few types of rum suitable for shooting straight."

If you're too lily-livered to drink it straight, try it as a "Shipwreck," which is Sailor Jerry rum mixed with a large splash of Red Bull.

Visit www.sailorjerryrum.com to find more recipes.

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Tattoos are today's way to establish identity

It's easy to tell when an underground enthusiasm like tattooing goes mainstream. People start referring to those who partake in it as a "community." Then gift cards and conventions make their appearance. Further validation of tattooing comes from cable TV, where enthusiasts - armchair and otherwise - now watch and wince at reality shows (five at last count) that explore the illustrated life.

A 2007 Food and Drug Administration report, based on an earlier Harris poll, estimated that 45 million Americans (equally divided between genders) have at least one tattoo. Once restricted mainly to jarheads and jailhouse residents, ink art is now mass market.

There seem to be nearly as many reasons for getting a tattoo as there are adherents. Some are impulse buys - an 18th birthday, a late-night dare or religious fervor.

Spice Girl Mel C's Tattoo Pain

Chisholm will spend up to £10,000 for laser treatment because ink art holds bad memories of her battles with anorexia and depression.

Mel, 34, will start the process of removal after the Spice Girls reunion tour in a series of treatments that could take up to two years, and carries a risk scarring.

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Photo of tattooed genitals costs surgeon his job

BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- A Mayo Clinic surgeon in Phoenix, Arizona, who used his mobile phone camera instead of a scalpel has lost his job.

Dr. Adam Hansen was fired because he took photos of a patient's tattooed genitals and showed them to colleagues.

In a statement posted Friday on the Mayo Clinic Hospital website, CEO Denis Cortese states Hansen "is no longer practicing medicine at Mayo Clinic."

The hospital held a disciplinary hearing for Hansen earlier this week and said he could be fired. Officials declined to specify if he was fired or stepped down.

Hansen, chief resident of general surgery, admitted taking a photo with his cell phone Dec.

Tattoo expo in Liverpool this weekend

It's a unique event held annually in Central New York for people to show off their body art. The 22nd annual AM-JAM Tattoo Expo takes center stage this weekend at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool.

If you're a tattoo enthusiast then this is the place to be this weekend. Friday night through Sunday more than 75 tattoo artists from around the world will be competing in 20 categories.

Organizers say the event is known as one of the oldest and largest expos of its kind. It's an opportunity for tattoo buffs to show off their ink and learn about some new designs and techniques.
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Popular business directory searches

Do you have a tattoo? Many people today do. Studies show that one in seven adults now sport one or more tattoos. Television shows like TLC's "Miami Ink," "LA Ink," and A&E's "Inked" have taken tattoing out of the realm of bikers, rock stars and rebellious teenagers and have illustrated that it's a mainstream form of self expression."Tattoos were once considered 'deviant' behavior," says Myrna Armstrong, a professor at the School of Nursing at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. "Many older people may still think that's the case. But younger people, however, view body art as a form of decoration and self-expression."Joe Osborne, owner of Enid's Red Dirt Ink tattoo parlor, said most of his clients are middle class adults over age 30. He said he doesn't believe tattooing is on the rise, but business has been steady since opening in Enid last summer.He said because the art of permanent body tattooing was illegal in the past, the state is in "almost like a tattoo boom out here right now."Through the years, tattooing has remained a way of expressing identity so that individuals may feel unique.

Tattoo shop hopes to leave imprint

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — If you looked into the face of a Maori tribesman in 19th-century New Zealand, you could see his entire life story told through his tattoos. The markings show such bits of life as his occupation and family lineage.

That snippet of tattoo history is part of the heritage of tattooing that C.W. "Chuck" Eldridge and his wife, Harriet Cohen, hope to impart through their business.

They opened The Tattoo Archive recently after they moved to Winston-Salem from Berkeley, Calif., in September.

Tattooing is part of the business, but the heart and soul of what Eldridge and Cohen do is collect, preserve and share knowledge from their archives about the history of tattooing. They maintain the Paul Rogers Research Center, a nonprofit that is built around Rogers' collection of photographs, tattoo design sheets and tattooing machines.

Welcome

Welcome to this blog which will look at the wonderful world of tattoos. We aim the look at the different designs, techniques and cultures that all have tattos and body art in common. Please feel free to comment on any post that you think needs it